We could not be the dynamic, energetic and strong school that we are without our Principal, our staff and of course our parents. With that comes amazing teaching, events, programs and spirit. But of course with all of these great things come issues, discussion and sometimes debate. Which are all good because usually these ideas and opinions get us all to a better place. However, we have found that sometimes it gets confusing as to how to voice these opinions. There is a time and a place.
For those that are not aware of the structure of the APA, there is the APA Chair (this year, Lori Miller Pike) and there are 5 areas each with a Co-Director/Director (School Programs, Health and Safety, Fundraising, Communications and Community Awareness). Within each of these areas there are several committees with volunteers. Many times there is a Chair of that committee.
Often volunteers are not in a position to deal with a concern at the moment. The Exec Committee is in place to help. We take all concerns, ideas and suggestions seriously and communicate with each other regularly. So with this in mind, we (the APA) are sharing a protocol for voicing ideas and challenges. It is not meant to be cumbersome but to ensure that everything is taken care of properly, emotion is kept to a minimum, and there is a respect and empowerment given to our amazing volunteers.
1. For APA related programs and activities (i.e. After 4), contact the specific Program or Committee Chair. As they too are volunteers, they will probably not respond right away. Please give them time. (If they choose to handle the situation on their own, they will still inform the Director, who will inform the APA Chair of material issues so everyone is in the loop).
2. The Committee Chair can choose to contact the Director of those committees (i.e. Director of School Programs in the case of After 4) should they need further input.
3. The Director can choose to contact the APA Chair for further consultation on the issue.
4. You will then receive a response as soon as possible. In order to fully understand the issue, please understand that often other people need to be consulted, fact finding needs to be done, or sometimes just some time for thought is needed.
We hope this process helps. Should you have any questions feel free to Lori Miller Pike.